Last year the Upper Deck company was one of the first to get involved with the Las Vegas Collectibles Industry Summit where hundreds of hobby shops from the United States and Canada got together to share ideas on how to improve business for the industry. After seeing first hand the positive effects of last year’s conference, Upper Deck is pleased to announce increased participation in 2011.



Upper Deck has committed to an Exclusive Summit Address, a social media presentation, a Corporate Home Base and an exclusive promotional card program featuring single and multi-signed cards of top spokesmen like Michael Jordan and LeBron James in particular.



“We want to make it worthwhile for shops to take the time to attend this show and by creating a promotional card set for attendees, we can deliver significant value to help those on the fence commit to attending today,” said Mike Phillips, Upper Deck’s director of hobby sales. “We hope that shops will use these for in-store promotions or to defray their costs of attending the Summit.”



The Industry Summit, scheduled March 20-23, 2011, at Las Vegas’ Orleans Hotel & Casino, brings together leaders from all segments of the sports collectible, gaming and entertainment collectible industries. Upper Deck attendees will include key members of its sales, marketing and product development teams, as well as company executives.



The company will meet directly with industry retailers during an Exclusive Summit Address, tentatively scheduled Tuesday, March 22, where they will present the first-ever Steve James Award. Steve was the owner of The Bullpen in Hendersonville, North Carolina who sadly passed away this year. Upper Deck wants to commemorate his passion for the hobby by presenting the Steve James Award to the hobby shop which best reflects Steve’s willingness to create a fun environment for its in-store customers while helping other shops in the industry enjoy success.



In addition, Upper Deck’s Sports Marketing & Social Media Manager, Chris Carlin, has agreed to lead a social media seminar that will serve as an update to his well-received presentation at the 2010 Summit.



“Shops that have attended this annual event know the value of it and realize it is the type of program you just cannot miss,” said Carlin. “The tough part can be getting shops who haven’t participated in the past to make the investment in attending. Hopefully by Upper Deck committing so much to the event early on, those shops will be motivated to be a part of this Summit. And it would be foolish not to attend, given the quality information they will receive on how to run a profitable store; the contacts they’ll make to help serve as a support network for their business development; the special card set we're producing exclusively for the show; and other giveaways we have planned for attendees throughout the weekend.”






About Upper Deck

Upper Deck is the leading sports and entertainment trading card and collectibles company. For more information on Upper Deck and its products please visit www.upperdeck.com



About The Industry Summit

The Industry Summit is an annual must-attend trade conference for executives and leading professionals in the sports collectible, gaming and entertainment collectible industries. For more information, visit www.regonline.com/vegas2011